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About Me

I am a below knee amputee. More importantly, I am also Mommy to two boys, a very active 10 year old (Robby) and an mischievous toddler (Timmy). I have learned that being a parent with a disability can create some unusual and sometimes humorous situations.
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Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Normal Mom

Elementary schools in our area were closed for the past two days
because of teacher in-services and conferences. Much to Robby's vocal
displeasure, his school calendar did not follow the public school's
schedule. Because he goes to a private school, he had a normal schedule
of classes. I don't blame him for being sad. If I were a kid, I am sure I
would have protested going to school when my friends were home for fall
break.

In order to garner good will in
the community (and not missing an opportunity to increase revenue),
Robby's school offered a special "camp" for public school students. The
participants were safe because they weren't home alone and were occupied
with a variety of fun crafts and games. It was a bit disconcerting
walking into his normally quiet school now bustling with noise and
filled with unfamiliar faces, but I think that the program is probably
an excellent option for working parents who couldn't take off two days
at the beginning of November.

Although
Robby complained non-stop about his attending school on what he is
positive were holidays, he thoroughly enjoyed the interactions with new
friends. With an abbreviated academic schedule, recesses and art time
were extended so that the two groups could combine and mingle. Picking
him up on Monday, he admitted that school was a lot of fun (after
providing the disclaimer that it would have been better to enjoy the
holiday at home.)

It took us considerably
longer to grab his lunchbox and coat out of his cubby. Almost as soon as
I stepped onto the playground to claim him, I was swarmed by curious
little faces, peppering me with questions about my leg. I never want to
ignore an opportunity to educate somebody about limb loss and
prosthetics, but I certainly wasn't prepared for the onslaught of
interest from the campers. After about 10 minutes of fielding questions,
I was finally rescued by a teacher who artfully diverted the attention
of my audience. Robby and I were able to escape the school undetected.

Yesterday
morning Robby made an odd request as I was dressing to take him to
school. "Momom, I think you should wear jeans. The new kids act like
they've never seen a prosthetic before. It's annoying." I was going to
explain that most kids don't get to see a prosthesis, but I decided to
just let it go. Instead I squeezed into the only pair of jeans that
still button over my growing bump and took him to school. There is a
time educate and enlighten, but sometimes it is more important to just
be a "normal" Mom.